Ertholmene is a Danish archipelago that lies approximately 20 kilometers northeast of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea.
The archipelago consists of two inhabited islands, Christianso and Frederikso, as well as a number of small islands and cliffs. The two main islands are connected by a thirty meter long bridge designed for pedestrians.
Islands : The islands and islets that make up the Ertholmene are : Christianso , Frederikso , Græsholm , Lilleo , Hogebur , Tat , Tyveskær , Vesterskær,Østerskær
Access : Coordinates: 55.320556, 15.184444 / By boat : The Ertholmene can only be reached by boat. There are daily passenger ferries from Gudhjem in the summer season with a passenger boat, out of season several times a week with the mail ship Peter, which is located in Gudhjem. Cars and bicycles are not allowed on the islands. Handcart and bike trailer with luggage but are taken as well as stroller and wheelchairs on the small passenger boats.
Sailors find a berth in the small harbor between Christianso and Frederikso.
The islands can only be explored on foot. The two islands of Christianso and Frederikso are connected by a really narrow pedestrian bridge.
Get around : There are no cars on the islands, so you have to walk. Bicycles are not allowed.
Highlights :
- Christianso : Store Tarn. The fortress tower is the landmark of the archipelago. However, it is preserved only as a ruin, which is surmounted by the 1805 supplemented lighthouse, with the first mirror fireworks of Denmark. Open: Open June-Sept. 12.00-16.00.
- The Governor of the Island still lives in the Commander’s House. It is the first building that visitors go to after leaving the small ferries.
- soldiers’ houses, the yellow-painted former houses of the fortress soldiers are still used as living space today. They lie to the right and left of the Gaden, the only “street” of the island.
- Fortress wall: Largely preserved, though increasingly friable, the fortress wall stretches around the island, and you can follow it once along. At the north-eastern end at Verdens end, you will reach the interior of the fortress through a narrow breakthrough.
- Batteries: In the south above the entrance to the harbor is a remnant of the island defense facilities.
- The church is not freely accessible, but usually only in the context of a guided tour. The building was originally a weapons factory, which was converted into a church in 1821 and expanded in 1852. In 1928 it was renewed in neoclassical style.
- Frederikso : Island Museum. . Open: 1.5 – 30.9 Mon-Fri 11.30-16.00, Sat + Sun 11.30-14.00. In high season daily 11.30-16.00 clock. During the Danish autumn holidays from 11.30 am to 1 pm on weekdays.
- Græsholm : The sights of Græsholm are the animal inhabitants of the small archipelago island: razorbills and guillemots, herring gull, herring gulls and eider ducks. However, the bird sanctuary may only be entered for research purposes.
activities : Tour of the island with a tour of the fortress wall, batteries and parade ground.
Guided tours of the island / On the east side of Christianso you can mostly sunbath on the rocks
Go next : Gudhjem / Allinge-Sandvig / Simrishamn ( Sweden )
